Mullingar to Donegal

From Mullingar we headed north into Donnegal and stayed at a hostel at the base of Mt Errigal, the tallest peak in Donnegal. We pulled up into the carpal and were amazed to see three wild red deer in a scrubby field next door. Intrigued, we enquired about them at reception and were told they often come through town from the nearby Glenveagh National Park, and are quite pesky- jumping into people's gardens and eating their veges. And mum thinks she has it bad at the ret!

We spent the first day in the National Park. Wandering up through mossy oak forest to the head of trout- full Lough Veagh , we saw lots of deer and possibly a Golden eagle landing on a rocky outcrop high above the valley. Previously a privately owned estate used by Americans for hunting and fishing, it was so cool to see it being re-established as a well cared for public national park. The following day we caught an early morning ferry out to Aranmore Island on the Nor west coast and spent a few hours walking its perimeter. The protected east side is covered in a few small villages, many of the houses in which are no longer used as permanent homes. There were plenty of sheep, but not many of the old stone wall fences seemed to be well functioning anymore and I would be surprised if there is any export off the island. All the land on this side of the island holds the contours of old potato fields, lost in a lot of other parts of the country presumably because of repeated cultivation. The west side was barren, with the odd sheep scattered here an there, and a very ancient set of yards made from various time-worn materials. It also had lots of bog sites. The path followed the only road around that

side if the island, but for the couple of hours we were walking we didn't see any one. With a bit of a bit of time to spare before we caught a ferry back to the mainland, we had a drink in a local pub and met a couple of island locals who gave us a run down on living offshore. With an ageing population and not many jobs, it must be hard to imagine how the community they seemed to care so much about is going to survive into the future.

Getting back to the hostel in the afternoon, for the first time since we got there we could see the tip of Errigal behind us through a spot of parted cloud. Knowing we would have to leave in the morning and with an uncertain forecast we took our chances and made for the top. The beginning of the track was a maze of bog, and poor negotiation on my part meant it didn't take long for us to get wet feet. The climb was steep but relatively short and before we knew it we were at the top battling a fervent wind. The cloud that had been stubbornly hanging around the top for the past couple of days had fizzled out completely, and we had views of the north and west coastlines, and the rest of Donnegal. A quick descent running down the loose scree meant we were back in time for another of our pasta and cheese hostel specials for tea.